Volcanic ash strands 30,000 in Australia, New Zealand

Associated Press

June 12, 2011

ASSOCIATED PRESSA Qantas cargo plane lands while other Qantas jets sit on the tarmac at the international airport in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, June 12, 2011. Qantas has issued a flight cancellation order for all services in and out of Melbourne and Auckland from 6 p.m. Sunday as precautionary measures due to the ash cloud from the eruption of Chile's Cordon Caulle volcano.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

ASSOCIATED PRESSA column of smoke and ashes comes out from the Puyehue volcano, some 1,100 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile, Saturday, June 4, 2011. Authorities have evacuated about 600 people living nearby the volcano. There have been no reports of injuries. (AP Photo/Martin Iniguez)

ASSOCIATED PRESSResidents of Rininahue look at a plume of smoke and ash merging from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano in Rininahue near Lago Ranco, over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile, Monday June 6, 2011. Authorities have evacuated about 3,500 people in the nearby area. The volcano was calm on Monday, two days after raining down ash and forcing thousands to flee, although the cloud of soot it had belched out still darkened skies as far away as Argentina. (AP Photo/Carlos Succo)

ASSOCIATED PRESSA car is completely covered in volcanic ash in San Carlos de Bariloche, southern Argentina, Sunday June 5, 2011. The Puyehue volcano, dormant for decades, erupted in south-central Chile on Saturday. The wind carried ash across the Andes to Argentina, dusting this tourist town which had to close its airport. (AP Photo/Alfredo Leiva)

ASSOCIATED PRESSThis natural-color satellite image provided by NASA was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite on Saturday June 11, 2011 of the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle eruption in Chile. In the image, the ash plume from the volcano is visible center. Some airline flights to and from New Zealand were canceled Sunday as the ash cloud from the erupting volcano in southern Chile spread. (AP Photo/NASA)

ASSOCIATED PRESSLightning strikes over the Puyehue volcano, over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile, Monday June 6, 2011. Authorities have evacuated about 3,500 people in the nearby area. The volcano was calm on Monday, two days after raining down ash and forcing thousands to flee, although the cloud of soot it had belched out still darkened skies as far away as Argentina. (AP Photo/Francisco Negroni, AgenciaUno)

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand >> Tens of thousands of passengers in Australia and New Zealand were stranded when airlines suspended flights Sunday as an ash cloud from an erupting volcano in southern Chile spread, threatening to damage engines.

Australia’s national carrier, Qantas Airways, said all the airline’s flights in and out of the southeastern city of Melbourne would be grounded. Other carriers including Virgin Australia and discount airlines Jetstar and Tiger similarly suspended flights.

Up to 30,000 passengers in New Zealand and Australia found themselves stuck, according to airlines’ estimates. Sunday afternoon, frustrated travelers lined up in airports and looked for last-minute accommodation. Hotels near Melbourne’s airport were fully booked.

The plume of ash could disrupt travel for the next several days, according to Airservices Australia. It said the main ash cloud had reached southern Tasmania and New Zealand’s South Island but it was expected to pass to the south of the Australian mainland.

Qantas also canceled 22 flights to and from New Zealand and the Australian island-state of Tasmania, as well as eight flights within New Zealand’s South Island, as the dust cloud from Chile’s erupting Cordon Caulle volcano spread across the atmosphere.

Virgin Australia later announced it was suspending 34 domestic flights and one international one from Melbourne on Sunday evening.

"We have been closely monitoring the situation all day," Virgin’s Sean Donohue said in a statement. "Safety is always our number one priority."

Australian budget carrier Jetstar said it canceled a total of 92 flights affecting 12,000 passengers.

National carrier Air New Zealand did not cancel or delay any flights but has adjusted flight routes and altitudes to ensure aircraft remain clear of any ash, company spokeswoman Tracy Mills said. The drifting clouds of fine grit can severely damage airplane engines.

New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority said the ash plumes could affect airplane cruising levels for both jet and turboprop aircraft at between 20,000 and 35,000 feet (6,000 and 10,600 meters).

The agency said the ash would likely disrupt flights for the next week.

The volcano in Chile began erupting on June 4. Flights in the South American countries of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil were grounded for some days following the eruption.

The flight warnings and disruptions come 14 months after air traffic was grounded across Europe after the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Private weather forecaster WeatherWatch.co.nz said Sunday that ash from the volcano had spiraled clockwise around Antarctica at a very high altitude.

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